Dispensing apparatus



March 26, 1957 B. T. MOORE ET AL 2,786,607

DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 22, 1954 Fig.1..

INVENTORS BENJAMIN T MOO/7E1 ROBE/P7 T Ma ALL/5' 75/? United StatesPatent DISPENSING APPARATUS Benjamin T. M iie na Rob ei't'T. McAllister,Oakland, Calif.

Application November 22, 1954, Serial No. 470,186 3Claiins. 01122 -183This invention relates to devices for storing'and dis pensing flowablematerial, and is more particularly directed towards apparatus of thischaracter adapted for receiving and dispensing the contents of a can ofcoffee or the like.

Heretofore, numerous dispensers have been provided which were adapted toreceive a can or container in which a liquid or fiowable granularmaterial was placed whereby the material could be poured from thedispenser into any other suitable container or cooking vessel.Whiles'uchdispensers have been widely used for a number of diiiere'ntpurposes, there are certain inherent disadvantages and shortcomings inthe prior art dispensers which renders them incapable ofproperlyperforming their functions under till-conditions of operation.

Accordingly, it is an object of thep'resent invention to provide adispenser which is adapted to receive a can of jco'ffee or the like,from which {the coffee maybe readily poured, and which will seal coffeegrounds from excessive oxidation when the dispenseris initsinoperative-'01 stered'wndifion I I .Ano ther object' of our inventios-gte provide a penser (if the 'cnarac'terne'sc'r'ita in which novelmeasuring means are incorporated with the pouring spout, and in whichsuch measuring means constitutes the seal for the dispenser.

A further object of the invention is to provide a dispenser of theaforesaid character in which the can containing the coffee or otherfiowable material may be readily placed into and removed from thedispenser with a minimum of effort, and yet in which the can, afterbeing placed in operative position, is firmly sealed wtih the dispenser.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a dispenser of theaforementioned character in which means are provided for insuring thatthe material initially stored in the can which is placed in thedispenser will return to the can after inverting of the dispenser as inpouring out the can contents.

A further object of our invention is to provide a dispenser of thecharacter described in which the sealing of the can to the dispenser isinsured notwithstanding any irregularities on the upper lip or head ofthe can.

A still further object of our invention is to provide a dispenser whichmay be selectively used for receiving a can as hereinabove mentioned orwhich may be alternately used for receiving and holding the contents ofthe can.

The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some ofwhich, with the foregoing, will be set forth in the followingdescription of the preferred form of the invention which is illustratedin the drawing accompanying and forming part of the specification. It isto be understood, however, that variations in the showing made by thesaid drawing and description may be adopted within the scope of theinvention as set forth in the claims.

Referring to said drawing: 1

Figure 1 is a side elevational view, mostly in section,

, 601 Patented Mai. 26, 1957 '2 of a dispenser constructed in accordancewith the teachings ofthe present invention.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional viewtaken substantially in the planeindicated by the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

With reference to the drawing, it will be noted that the dispenser ofourinvention preferably includes a cylindrical body portion 6 and aconcave head portion 7 which may be formed integrally with the body 6.The diameter of the body is such that when a can 8 is placed therein, anannular; space 9 will be provided between the outer walls of thecan andthe inner peripheral surface of the body. Th iSf Of c0urse, willpermit-readyinsertion and removal of the can from; the dispenser. Forreasons of economy, the body 6 and head 7 maybe molded from one of thethermosettingplastics or otherwise integrally formed, but it will beapparent to those skilled in the art that the head 7 could be removablyattached to the body without departing from the spirit or scope of theinvention. I V I The lower-end of the body 6 is providedfwith externalthreads 12 which are adapted to receive the threads .13 of a lower capmember 14. The cap is provided with a base 16tand an annular collar 17in which the threads are formed. As will be seen, the threads 12 and 13may be engaged so-as to secure the cap to the body while still providinga space 1? bet-ween the lower end 21 of the body and the opposedconfronting surface 22 of the cap base. The reason for this spacing willbe presently deb d-,. .4 o. V Adjacent the upper end of the body 6 atsubstantially the juncture thereof with the head 7, we provide a seal-;in'g means in .theform of ,a gasket 24. Preferably, .the gasket isprovided with agflatlower surface 26, an .upstanr'ling vertical wallportion 27 and an upwardly and outwardly directed tapered portion; 28.As will; be understood, the length fof the flat portion 2-6ythat is;thej; annular width of the gasket is such as to insure engagement withthe upper bead 31 of a can when the can is placed in the dispenser.Likewise, by constructing the gasket out of a resilient material such asrubber or the like, the can may still be forced upwardly into engagementwith the surface 26 for substantially the entire length of the bead 31notwithstanding any small irregularities or deformation appearingtherein. Thus, the can may be inserted in the container or dispenseruntil the upper end 31 engages the gasket 24. By screwing the lower cap14, the can will be forced upwardly into tight sealing engagement withthe gasket while the space 19 permits the lower end portion of the can 8to extend downwardly below the lower end 21 of the cylindrical body 6.Thus, notwithstanding the seal between the cap, can and gasket, when thelower cap is threadedly removed, the lower end of the can may be graspedby the fingers of the user and readily withdrawn from the dispenser.

Means are provided for effecting removal of the can contents uponinversion of the dispenser. As here shown, adjacent one side of the head7 we provide an opening in the head which is designated by the numeral36. Extending outwardly and upwardly from such opening there is atapered spout 37 having an outlet 38. Therefore, it will be apparentthat when the dispenser is inverted or tilted such as by grasping themanually engageable handle 39, the contents of the can may flow into thespace 41 between the upper end of the can and the concave innerperipheral surface of the head, and through the openings 36 and 38 intoany desired place.

When the dispenser and its contents is merely being stored, it isnecessary that the contents of can 8 be sealed against undue exposure tothe air, moisture and the like. We therefore provide a plug or seal forthe opening 38 and as a novel feature of our invention, it will be 'ofdifiiculty and spoilage of such material.

arsaeor c 3 noted, that this seal means is in the form of a cup 42having a bottom 43 and side walls 44. The side walls 44 are tapered sothat the cup may be readily placed on the tapered spout 37 so as to sealthe opening 38. Preferably, the taper on the spout 37 is greater thanthe taper on the cup 42 so that by wedgiug the latter on the spout afirm seal is obtained therebetween. When the cup is removed, thecontents of the dispenser may be poured directly into the cup and apredetermined quantity of the cofiee or other material in the can 8 maybe readily obtained. In this manner, we achieve a two-fold function inproviding a ready source of measuring as well as providing a proper airseal for the interior of the dispenser.

' When the dispenser is inverted, it will be understood that thecontents thereof will flowinto the space 41 and upon placing thedispenser in'the normal position indi- "cated in the drawing, the gasket24, if constructed ofa more conventional annular form would trap some ofthe contents on the upper surface'of such gasket. To avoid such apossibility, the tapered portion 28 'of the gasket will properly directany contents which would normally 'remain thereon back into the can uponplacing of the dispenser in its inoperative or vertical position. Thiswill thoroughly prevent an accumulation of stale prodnets on the gasketwhen subsequent cans are introduced into the dispenser.

From the foregoing description, it will be appreciated that while thedispenser of the present invention is simple in construction andoperation, it will fulfil a longneeded want in permitting the propersealing, storing and disparsing of a flowable granular material with aminimum Further more, it will be readily appreciated that instead ofplacing a can of material in the dispenser, the contents of the can maybe poured directly into the dispenser when the latter is in an invertedposition by'merely removing the lower cap 14. By replacing this cap,once again the cofiee or other material will be held in the dispenserand ready for removal upon inverting of the dispenser and pouring outthrough the spout 37.

. 4 What is claimed is: l. A dispenser comprising a cylindrical bodyhaving an upper closure provided with an opening therethrough,

a lower cap having an annular wall extending upwardly from a baseportion, means on the inner surface of said annular wall engageable withan outer lower edge portion of said body for releasably securing saidcap to said body, a resilient annular gasket disposed on the innersurface of said body adjacent said upper closure against which the upperhead of a can may be positioned, said lower cap being arranged to engagethe lower rim of said can and urge the same upwardly into engagementwith said gasket, means defining a pouring spout extending outwardlyfrom said upper [closure opening, said spout having an outer surfacetapering from a maximum cross-sectional area adjacent said opening to aminimum cross-sectional area at the open end thereof, and a readilyremovable closure member for said spout comprising a cup-shaped memberhaving outwardly divergent walls arranged to engage the outer portionsof said spout for sealing said opening.

2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 in which the taper on said cup-likemember is'less than the taper on said spout.

3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 in which said gasket is providedwith an upwardly and outwardly directed taper adjacent the upper surfacethereof and extending to said upper closure whereby the contents of acan placed in said dispenser will flow inwardly and downwardly uponplacing 'of the dispenser in an upright position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS998,533 King July 18, 1911 1,188,132 Anderson June 20, 1916 1,351,331Herschmann Aug. 31, 1920 1,935,969 Witherspoon Nov. 21, 1933 2,297,945Cornelius Oct. 6, 1942 2,689,669 Ericson Sept. 21, 1954

